I'm getting confused by all the seemingly similar abbreviations and identifiers.
My network and information sources seem to say:
SSID = Network Name.
My PCI Wireless Adapter card settings have two name fields:
Configuration Name, presently "Default"; and
Network Name (SSID), presently blank.
There's a BSSID field, which is set to the MAC Address of the WAP.
My WAP shows two fields, one called SSID (presently default set to "default" - but shouldn't this be the same as that of the PCI Adapter?) and System Name (presently set as "admin"). What's the difference between System Name and Network Name?
My router has so many fields for names, many presently blank, that I'm not sure what to do with them:
the WAN page has an optional Host Name (presently blank - should it be my ISP?; or my own network name?; does it do anything?);
the LAN has a blank Domain Name.
On the DDNS page, wherein the DDNS is disabled, I'm presented with an alternative Provider list {DynDNS.org, TZO.com, and dhs.org), the fields for Host Name (blank), Username/E-mail (blank) and Password/Key (blank). What, if anything, should I be doing with this?
The SNMP, which I understand I can use for network management (altho' I seem to be doing OK without touching this), has two name fields: there's Get Community, presently set as "public", and Set Community, set as "private". I think these ought to be both set to the same, and that should be the same as the SSID. Am I correct?
I'm using DLink; W2k; and dynamic IP Addressing for my WAN; but cannot get the network to interconnect on the LAN side if I set the PCs wireless adapter cards to this - they have to have both their IP address, Gateway IP Address, and the DNS set to specific values for me to get 'net access.
Network Name Setting
Boy you have a lot of questions!!
I could sit here and answer them all, but they are all covered, with the excpetion of one I couldn't find, in the owners manual. If you don't have one, you can go to dlink.com and download the manual for the model you have.
The ddns are, which I didn't see covered in the manual stands for dynamic DNS. This means that if you have a dynamic IP address (one that constantly changes) you can assign your router a DNS name, i.e. mycomputer.dyndns.net
So for example, if you were to use pcAnywhere to get in to your machine all the time, you have the option of using an IP address or a host name. Since your IP constanly changes you would probably not know your IP. Instead, you could use mycomputer.dyndns.net (or whatever name you choose) and you would be able to connect. The connection is updated in DNS every time your IP address changes, and it is fairly quick at doing so.
You can read more about dynamic DNS at http://www.dyndns.org
I could sit here and answer them all, but they are all covered, with the excpetion of one I couldn't find, in the owners manual. If you don't have one, you can go to dlink.com and download the manual for the model you have.
The ddns are, which I didn't see covered in the manual stands for dynamic DNS. This means that if you have a dynamic IP address (one that constantly changes) you can assign your router a DNS name, i.e. mycomputer.dyndns.net
So for example, if you were to use pcAnywhere to get in to your machine all the time, you have the option of using an IP address or a host name. Since your IP constanly changes you would probably not know your IP. Instead, you could use mycomputer.dyndns.net (or whatever name you choose) and you would be able to connect. The connection is updated in DNS every time your IP address changes, and it is fairly quick at doing so.
You can read more about dynamic DNS at http://www.dyndns.org
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Fumbler
Thanks for the response BDillon21 - and so quick.
I suppose you're right, that all the answers are in the manual. But believe me, I've read it more than once and still can't make out just what to do - I think it's 'cos I've bitten off more than I can chew. However, I am where I am.
I've looked at your web link about DDNS - if I understand it right, this is only of any interest if I'm going to use my network as a website. As I'm not (I've got a hosted website), I can ignore that then.
To my main part. My confusion is the profusion of name fields, some of which appear to be related but have differing names in them; and, as I'm having no luck getting the dynamic IP addressing working on the LAN I thought that if I correctly filled in these fields, then I'd have solved that problem.
However, I can continue my trial and error. Which is what I've been doing for a couple of months now - slow work; looses the family the 'net for days at a time.
Cheers
I suppose you're right, that all the answers are in the manual. But believe me, I've read it more than once and still can't make out just what to do - I think it's 'cos I've bitten off more than I can chew. However, I am where I am.
I've looked at your web link about DDNS - if I understand it right, this is only of any interest if I'm going to use my network as a website. As I'm not (I've got a hosted website), I can ignore that then.
To my main part. My confusion is the profusion of name fields, some of which appear to be related but have differing names in them; and, as I'm having no luck getting the dynamic IP addressing working on the LAN I thought that if I correctly filled in these fields, then I'd have solved that problem.
However, I can continue my trial and error. Which is what I've been doing for a couple of months now - slow work; looses the family the 'net for days at a time.
Cheers
Ah, I did not realize you were having problems making it work, I thought you were just wondering what these fields were for. I should have read your original post more thoroughly. Which model Dlink (WAP and card) do you have? Also, which ISP are you using. If we knew this we could be of more help.
As for DDNS, it's not just as a web server tool. You could use it if you need to use pcAnywhere, VPN, or any other tool you could use to access your computer remotely.
Put it this way, if you ever need to access your computer for anything outside of your network, and you have a dynamic IP, then you will need to use a DDNS client.
Edit:
OK, this might help.
First, use the USB utility to set up the following:
Enable DHCP. DHCP needs to be set to Ethernet (unless it is receiving DHCP info from another WAP, then it is set to wireless.)
Set your SSID, these need to be the same on both the WAP and the wireless card. It can be any 32 character phrase containing both letters or numbers.
The WAP and NIC must be on the same channel as well.
Once you have this set, use the SNMP utility.
Access Point Name can be anything you would like, it's just there for reference (comes in handy when you have more than one WAP.)
Leave transmit rate set at auto (you can set it to a slower speed if you are crossing great distances, or are having some connection problems.)
Mode should be AP for access point.
Dont worry about BSSID unless you are using more than one WAP on your LAN.
Don't touch anything on the advanced tab (perhaps later, once you get the hang of it.)
WEP is optional. It is a wireless form of encyption that protects your data sent through the air. It also eats up some bandwidth. Decide which is more important, bandwidth or the remote chance of someone eavesdropping on you.
Configuration name on your wireless card means that you can have more than one configuration so you can quickly change your settings if you use more than one wireless LAN. It can be left set at default.
As far as the Host Name field is concerned, some ISPs require it, some do not. Chances are, it can be left blank but we will know for sure once you tell us which ISP you are on.
As for DDNS, it's not just as a web server tool. You could use it if you need to use pcAnywhere, VPN, or any other tool you could use to access your computer remotely.
Put it this way, if you ever need to access your computer for anything outside of your network, and you have a dynamic IP, then you will need to use a DDNS client.
Edit:
OK, this might help.
First, use the USB utility to set up the following:
Enable DHCP. DHCP needs to be set to Ethernet (unless it is receiving DHCP info from another WAP, then it is set to wireless.)
Set your SSID, these need to be the same on both the WAP and the wireless card. It can be any 32 character phrase containing both letters or numbers.
The WAP and NIC must be on the same channel as well.
Once you have this set, use the SNMP utility.
Access Point Name can be anything you would like, it's just there for reference (comes in handy when you have more than one WAP.)
Leave transmit rate set at auto (you can set it to a slower speed if you are crossing great distances, or are having some connection problems.)
Mode should be AP for access point.
Dont worry about BSSID unless you are using more than one WAP on your LAN.
Don't touch anything on the advanced tab (perhaps later, once you get the hang of it.)
WEP is optional. It is a wireless form of encyption that protects your data sent through the air. It also eats up some bandwidth. Decide which is more important, bandwidth or the remote chance of someone eavesdropping on you.
Configuration name on your wireless card means that you can have more than one configuration so you can quickly change your settings if you use more than one wireless LAN. It can be left set at default.
As far as the Host Name field is concerned, some ISPs require it, some do not. Chances are, it can be left blank but we will know for sure once you tell us which ISP you are on.
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Fumbler
Fantastic; much appreciated BDillon21 - kind of you to take so much trouble.
Whilst I do indeed actually have the setup working - it's DLink stuff (DI-604 router, DWL-5000AP WAP, DWL-A520 PCI adapters in each PC) - I'm getting the odd dropping; slow speed at times; and cannot get the dynamic IP adressing to work on the LAN side.
So I thought that if I got some of the other somewhat mysterious fields correctly altered, then some of the glitches would go away.
I'll try all your suggestions. Tho' that'll be tomorrow now - it's getting late for me.
Oh: I seem to have no trouble getting into both the router and the WAP from the PCs using the web addressing over the wireless.
And as WEP slows things down, I thought I'd avoid it for now - the 802.11a is somewhat rare still so may be safe. But I did think that I could use the specifying MAC Address access (ACL?) so that only listed systems could be on the network - if I've understood it right.
Kind regards, Ian
Whilst I do indeed actually have the setup working - it's DLink stuff (DI-604 router, DWL-5000AP WAP, DWL-A520 PCI adapters in each PC) - I'm getting the odd dropping; slow speed at times; and cannot get the dynamic IP adressing to work on the LAN side.
So I thought that if I got some of the other somewhat mysterious fields correctly altered, then some of the glitches would go away.
I'll try all your suggestions. Tho' that'll be tomorrow now - it's getting late for me.
Oh: I seem to have no trouble getting into both the router and the WAP from the PCs using the web addressing over the wireless.
And as WEP slows things down, I thought I'd avoid it for now - the 802.11a is somewhat rare still so may be safe. But I did think that I could use the specifying MAC Address access (ACL?) so that only listed systems could be on the network - if I've understood it right.
Kind regards, Ian
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Fumbler
Thanks again BDillon21.
Some I'd already done - DHCP was enabled on the router; the default Gateway of the WAP was that of the router (192.168.0.1).
The router's LAN has been set with its IP address of 192.168.0.1 (this confused me for a while, as I thought it might have been meant to be the IP address of the WAP; but I now understand it to be the router's own IP address - which presumably I could change if I wanted to). The DHCP is enabled, with the pool starting address of 1 and ending of 244.; the domain name has been left blank.
However, I still have to have the TCP/IP of the PCs specified - selecting "Obtain an IP Address automatically" just doesn't work, even after rebooting everything including the NTL cable modem box.
Which is frustrating, as everything I'm told and read says that dynamic IP addressing ought to work and is a much simpler arrangement. It is working for the WAN side of the router OK.
Some I'd already done - DHCP was enabled on the router; the default Gateway of the WAP was that of the router (192.168.0.1).
The router's LAN has been set with its IP address of 192.168.0.1 (this confused me for a while, as I thought it might have been meant to be the IP address of the WAP; but I now understand it to be the router's own IP address - which presumably I could change if I wanted to). The DHCP is enabled, with the pool starting address of 1 and ending of 244.; the domain name has been left blank.
However, I still have to have the TCP/IP of the PCs specified - selecting "Obtain an IP Address automatically" just doesn't work, even after rebooting everything including the NTL cable modem box.
Which is frustrating, as everything I'm told and read says that dynamic IP addressing ought to work and is a much simpler arrangement. It is working for the WAN side of the router OK.
OK, do any of the hard wired computers get an IP address via DHCP?
Also, how far away are the PCs from the access point?
Are they on different levels?
Is it in a house or building?
Do you have turbo mode enabled?
Are you still having connection problems?
If you are getting a weak connection, disable turbo mode and drop the speed back a little on the WAP, see if that helps a little.
Also, how far away are the PCs from the access point?
Are they on different levels?
Is it in a house or building?
Do you have turbo mode enabled?
Are you still having connection problems?
If you are getting a weak connection, disable turbo mode and drop the speed back a little on the WAP, see if that helps a little.
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Fumbler
Thanks for getting back.
None of the PCs are hard-wired in; all are via the wireless. I had initially hardwired one to set up the WAP, but have found since that the intercommunication between the PCs and the WAP are nearly always good - nearly always above 24Mbps and generally at 72Mbps.
I'm doing all this configuring with about 12' between this PC and the WAP - it's just outside the door, 5' off the ground (about central for all the PCs - 2 others the same and one about 25', line of sight). I doubt this is a problem (nearness & strength of signal), as all of us can connect at reasonably high speed most of the time.
Turbo is enabled (as you can probably tell from the figures).
Perhaps I'm just being too fussy, expecting the setup to be as per the manual - dynamic, with all the safety features working.
None of the PCs are hard-wired in; all are via the wireless. I had initially hardwired one to set up the WAP, but have found since that the intercommunication between the PCs and the WAP are nearly always good - nearly always above 24Mbps and generally at 72Mbps.
I'm doing all this configuring with about 12' between this PC and the WAP - it's just outside the door, 5' off the ground (about central for all the PCs - 2 others the same and one about 25', line of sight). I doubt this is a problem (nearness & strength of signal), as all of us can connect at reasonably high speed most of the time.
Turbo is enabled (as you can probably tell from the figures).
Perhaps I'm just being too fussy, expecting the setup to be as per the manual - dynamic, with all the safety features working.
Hmmm... This is really bothering me.
First off, when the clients are set to obtain IP automatically, what IP do they get when they reboot?
Set a client to obtain IP automatically, disable WINS, obtain DNS automatically, etc, etc.
Reboot that client and let me know what IP it gets. On Win2k or XP, go to start, run, then type in cmd and hit enter. At the command prompt type in ipconfig and hit enter.
If you can, hard wire a client in to your router to see if it hands out a DHCP address.
By the way, you have a private message from me.
First off, when the clients are set to obtain IP automatically, what IP do they get when they reboot?
Set a client to obtain IP automatically, disable WINS, obtain DNS automatically, etc, etc.
Reboot that client and let me know what IP it gets. On Win2k or XP, go to start, run, then type in cmd and hit enter. At the command prompt type in ipconfig and hit enter.
If you can, hard wire a client in to your router to see if it hands out a DHCP address.
By the way, you have a private message from me.